


The Queen

by L_Lamar369



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - GTA V, Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fake AH Crew, Female Jack, Fluff, GTA AU, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, Love, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, Past Domestic Violence, Past Torture, Possessive Behavior, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-08-22 05:42:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16591907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_Lamar369/pseuds/L_Lamar369
Summary: Aiden O'Cain, a sought after seamstress and tailor in Los Santos, is happily dating someone she knows is a big shot criminal, Geoff Ramsey. She doesn't know very much about his work, but she does know he makes her and her children happy. What she isn't expecting is for her criminal past to catch up with her all at once and send her spiraling down. What will she choose, her past or her future?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
I stared into the mirror at myself. I had on a dress shirt that wasn’t mine, black dress pants, and stiletto heels. I knew he would complain about the heels, but they completed the outfit so well. I smiled softly thinking of him. Geoff Ramsey. He was, without a doubt, one of the best things to ever happen to me. Other than my children. They came first. Always. Even though he was some type of criminal. I had no idea what he did as a criminal, and I didn’t care to find out. He could be a mass murderer for all I care. All I care is that he treats me and my children well. And he does. He loves them as if they’re his own.

I smiled even wider at the thought of my children interacting with Geoff. They all loved him, especially my youngest son, Riley. Riley would sit in Geoff’s lap as my other children would play games with Geoff. Their all time favorite was Mario Kart. I could think all day about them spending time together, but I had to finish my hair and makeup before Geoff got here. 

I went to the bathroom, heels wobbling a bit because of the carpet. My heels clicked on the tiles in the bathroom as I went to the vanity. I took out my makeup from under the sink and did myself up as nicely as possible for Geoff without going over the top. Some foundation and blush for my pale, freckled face; smiling as I put on some red lipstick to match my red hair. I finished by putting my long, red hair into a french braid. 

As soon as I finished with my hair, the doorbell was rung. I skipped from my room down the hall, through the living room, to the front door stuck between the kitchen and dining room. When I opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of a bouquet of purple bellflowers. “I know they’re your favorite.” Geoff grinned at me under his handlebar mustache. I couldn’t help but grin once again. I don’t remember a time I smiled this much before I met Geoff. Today he was in a very expensive looking tux that hid almost all of his beautiful tattoos. 

“Thank you.” I accepted the generous gift from him and let him into the house. I left him by the doorway to go to the kitchen and replace the old roses from a week ago with the new bellflowers. He soon found his way to the kitchen and his hands found my hips. His mustache tickled my skin as he trailed kisses up and down my neck. He had to angle his head up a bit because of the height difference with me in five inch heels. I was normally only an inch taller than him, so now I was half a foot taller than him. 

“Why do you have to wear those damn heels?” My response was to laugh and turn to face him in his arms. 

“I thought you liked me in heels?” I purred and nipped at his neck. I reveled in the soft groan and only pulled back when I heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen. I pulled back from him, grinning the whole time. “Maybe I won’t wear heels to bed next time.” I winked at him before rushing to meet my overly excited five year old son. 

“Mommy! Mommy! I got dressed all by myself!” Riley squealed. He had dressed himself in a dress shirt, vest, and dress pants with his nicest shoes. He showed all his teeth when he smiled, even though he was a missing canine tooth on his left side. I gasped and cheered for him as I picked him up. I spun us around before setting him on my hip. “Geoff!” Riley squeaked and made grabby hands at him. I laughed as I handed him over to the older man. 

“Hey there buddy!” Geoff cooed and gently took my son from my grip. He held Riley closely as he grinned at the young boy. “How’s my little bud doing? You protecting your mom and siblings?” 

Riley nodded quickly and smiled wider. “Yeah! Mommy is teaching me how to beat up the bad guys!” He giggled some. He was just so proud of himself for learning that it warmed my heart. I didn't tear my eyes away from them until I heard more footsteps coming down the hall. Looking up, I see the rest of my kids piling into the living room. 

Little ten year old Sadie was on her sixteen year old brother Richard’s shoulders. Her blonde hair was back in a braid very similar to mine and she wore a very cute, puffy, purple dress that would have gone to her ankles if she hadn’t pulled it up to sit on Richard’s shoulders. Thankfully she was wearing her white stockings. Richard on the other hand was in something very similar to Geoff, a black and white crisp tux that I had just bought him. Richard bounced around and laughed when Sadie squealed. Fifteen year old Freya and Colin had matching outfits. Freya was in a long, sheath, navy blue dress that also reached her ankles that matched her blue pumps. Freya’s wavy, bright red hair was half up and half down. Colin had a navy blue tux similar to Richard’s but that matched Freya’s dress perfectly. The twin siblings laughed at Sadie’s squeal and went to either side of Richard. Thirteen year old Nari popped up behind them in her short, flared out red and black dress, black stockings, and black pumps. She grinned at her siblings as she curled her shoulder-length, curly brown hair around her fingers. 

The last ones that came from the hall leading to the bedrooms were my other set of twins, they were twin eighteen year old girls though. Elizabeth, a short and stocky, feisty little fighter of a young woman was in a galaxy hoodie, skinny jeans, and converse. The older twin, Liz, was a tall and slender young woman. She was dressed in a knee-length denim dress cinched at her waist with a brown belt and had small brown pumps. They were both on their phones and smiling. 

“Mom, we have dates. We’ll be back at midnight.” Elizabeth finally tore her eyes away from her phone screen to look up at Geoff and I. I scowled and tilted my head at them, crossing my arms under my small chest. “If you don’t want us back sooner, that is?” She quickly tacked on as soon as she realized I wasn’t happy with the late night out. 

“Ten is your curfew. Eleven at the latest. Any later and your dates won’t see the light of day again.” I told them, to which Elizabeth grumbled some and nodded. Liz smiled up at me and thanked me quickly before the doorbell rang. They hesitated for a moment before running off to the door together. I chanced a peak out the door and saw two men at the door. One had curly auburn hair, glasses, and was somewhat muscular while the other was short and stocky, very similar to Elizabeth, and had a head of curly dark hair with red painted on top. 

My two eldest rushed out the door and attacked their dates with hugs and kisses. Elizabeth was with the taller, auburn haired man while Liz was with the shorter, stockier man. I felt the need to protect them rise like a snake in my chest and hiss at their relaxed state with two strangers. I pushed the feeling down and waved at them with a small smile as they shut and locked the door. I sighed softly and turned to face the rest of my children and Geoff. 

My middle kids were all grouped together and laughing every time Richard made Sadie squeal. Geoff was still holding Riley, who was happily bouncing as he told Geoff a story. I went up behind Geoff, wrapping my arms around his waist in a loose hug as he listened carefully to Riley’s story. I started giving Geoff’s neck soft kisses to which he smiled slightly. 

“-and then Mommy kicked Beth’s butt! It was so funny! I knew Mommy could beat Beth, but Auntie Caitlin and Uncle Gil thought Beth would win.” Riley grinned widely at the end of his story. Again, he was so proud of himself. He suddenly reached out and smooshed Geoff’s cheeks together before laughing. “Did you think Mommy was going to win?” He asked as he tilted his head. 

“Of course, Riley. Your mom is a spitfire if I’ve ever seen one.” Geoff smiled again, well the best he could with Riley playing with his face and mustache. He glanced over to the clock on the wall of the kitchen before humming. “We should get going. We don’t want to be late for dinner.” I hummed in agreement before letting go of him- although reluctantly. 

Together we ushered the kids into my charcoal grey Chevrolet Suburban. Thankfully it fit all eight of us comfortably. The older of my middle children, Richard, Freya and Colin sat in the far back with Freya in the middle to keep the boys from ruining their outfits with their roughhousing. Sadie and Nari sat on either side of Riley in his booster seat and were quietly talking about something and giggling. Probably something to do with Elizabeth and Liz leaving on dates. I sat in the passenger’s seat and watched the world go by as Geoff drove. He always drove when we were together- unless of course he got drunk. Which wasn’t that often, surprisingly enough. He loved to suck down alcohol but was rarely ever drunk. Soon enough, we were driving through the heart of Los Santos to a fancy five star restaurant. I smiled at my reflection in the car window when Geoff put a hand on my thigh and squeezed. 

How could I ever be this lucky? I finally found a man willing to love me for me and take in my children as his own. And he could keep his work separate from us. That was all I wanted. I remember a time when my criminal life leaked into every part of my life and put my children in danger every day. But now I was a seamstress and tailor, working completely legitimately and loving my life with my kids. And someone I could proudly call the love of my life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
Soon we were pulling up to the valet parking and I was smiling once again. Geoff had picked the restaurant that we went to on our first date. He was quick to pay for the valet parking before getting out. He made his way to my side, helped me out, and then opened the back door to release my children. Sadie was the first one out and quickly ran to hug me. She bounced until I picked her up, smiling as Geoff let the rest of my kids out and then picked up Riley from his booster seat. Riley giggled and gave Geoff a great big kiss on the cheek. With Sadie on one hip and holding Geoff’s hand with my free one, we made our way into the large restaurant as a family.

The restaurant was many stories high and had huge windows on each story. There was more glass than actual concrete it seemed. I glanced up at the top where I knew our table was being set up now. Geoff loved the view we got from the top floor, so he always paid extra to have us seated there. Once we got inside, Sadie gasped and giggled some. She had never been anywhere near this fancy so she was gawking at how well dressed the men and women in the building were. Her jaw dropped when she saw all the intricate designs on the walls and carpet leading to the host desk. I smiled at her and gave her soft kisses all over. 

All Geoff had to do was give his name to the host and we were being led up to the top floor. I put Sadie down when she wiggled, then she took to holding my hand in a death grip as we went to the elevator. She wasn’t all that fond of heights, so I knew she would be sitting on my lap while we ate. That was, if she wasn’t being stubborn. If she was going to be stubborn, she’d refuse to get off the elevator once we got to the top floor. I hoped for the first one as to not cause a scene.

When the the elevator got to the top floor, there was a soft ding before the doors slid open. Freya dragged her brothers out first, racing to the long table situated by the windows of the large room. Off along the right side wall was a fully stocked bar with every alcohol imaginable. I laughed when Geoff made a b-line to towards the hard liquors. I let him go and took both Nari and Sadie’s hands to walk them to the table. “C’mon girls. You want to sit with Mommy?” I asked softly, to which both girls nodded. Nari played with her curly hair as she watched her older siblings stare out the windows and laugh. The boys pointed at the cars racing by on the streets under us while Freya held onto Richard’s arm. She easily leaned her head on his shoulder as he was a few inches taller and much broader than she was. Colin whined softly when he noticed the attention Freya was giving Richard and cuddled up to her other side. I couldn’t help but laugh at them as I pulled out Nari’s seat for her. 

Even though Richard wasn’t biologically mine, and neither were Liz and Elizabeth, I still loved them like they were. After all, they were my siblings’ kids. They’re family no matter how you look at it. 

I called my twins and Richard over to sit at the table so they could look over the menu. They came bounding over as soon as I called and took seats together. Geoff sat at one end of the table while I took the other, Sadie sitting on my right and Nari on my left. Richard took his seat across from Freya and next to Sadie, making sure to drape his jacket over the back of his chair first. Riley sat next to Geoff and on his other side sat Colin. 

We all went over the menus before ordering our drinks. Geoff, of course, ordered the most expensive liquor he could and I just ordered a red wine. Well, everything on the menu was expensive, so my wine was expensive too. The kids ordered their sodas and started chattering on about what to eat. I helped Nari choose shrimp scampi and Sadie happily chose Parmesan chicken, leaving me to order a small steak. Richard and Colin both got big steaks and Freya got salmon. Riley got chicken tenders from the kid’s menu and Geoff chose lasagna. I smiled at the waiter and thanked him as he left. 

I watched Richard fiddle with his cuffs and just saw his father, my little brother, when we were younger. My brother could never keep his dress shirts on correctly for long. He always felt the need to push his sleeves up to his elbows so he could get dirty, which is what Richard was doing right now. “Richy, why are you pushing up your sleeves?” I asked him softly, to which he shrugged and rolled his shoulders. 

“Don’t know. I just feel a bit antsy is all. You know I have a hard time sitting still, Mommy.” Richard smiled at me and I could swear he was my little brother, Gilbert. He had the same lopsided, half-smile, half-smirk smile. He ran a hand through his hair before he turned to Freya to chat. Colin would butt in on their conversation from time to time and Richard would threaten to throttle him each time. Geoff was happily talking to Riley and kept Colin occupied as best as he could to keep Richard form leaping over the table to attack him. I talked to my two younger daughters softly, laughing and smiling softly as Nari told me about her friends at school. 

Soon enough, food and drinks were coming out and we all dug into our food. Every so often, Geoff and I’s eyes would meet and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. He was perfect in every way. God I’m so lucky. I smiled wider when he would smile back. But my smile turned into a frown when his phone went off and he had to step away from the table to answer it. He went on the other side of the room, and even from this distance I could tell he was aggravated. When he came back, he was tense instead of relaxed. Angry instead of happy.

“Work just called. I’m so sorry, but I have to go in. I’ll pay for dinner on the way out.” He went around the table giving each one of my kids a kiss on the cheek before making his way to me. He gave me a gentle kiss on the lips to which the kids all gagged. A laughed bubbled up and escaped my lips before I could stop it. “I love you.” He mumbled on my lips. 

“Love you too.” I told him with a smile. “Be safe.” He made sure I had the keys to my car and the valet parking ticket before he nodded and waved at the kids one last time before leaving in the elevator. 

Dinner didn’t take very long to finish after he left. We ate quickly and it was much more chaotic. Colin nearly started a food fight with Richard in the middle of dinner, but I managed to calm both boys down before any food was thrown. Freya was not a big help; she was just laughing at them and poking Colin in the side. After we all finished as much as we could and got boxes for the rest, we left the restaurant happy and full. 

The car ride back home seemed so much longer than the way there, probably because I was alone again. Well, without Geoff. I was never really alone anymore. I always had at least one child with me at all times, even when I was sleeping. The drive home was fairly quiet. All of them seemed to be slipping into food comas. That was good because then there wouldn’t be fighting, but bad because they would all be cranky when I woke them up to go inside. 

I checked the time as I pulled into the garage. We had left the house at 6:30 and now we were home at 9:00. The twins should be home soon, and if they weren’t I would be grounding them for at least a week or two. Not that Elizabeth listened. I sighed and put my head to the steering wheel. She was too much like me when I was younger. Hell, me just six years ago. Before I quit a life of crime. Before Riley came along. The risk taker, the fighter, the spitfire. She was all of those things. I was all of those things, before I finally had enough. Before I got tired and gave up on everything I knew and started fresh in this crime ridden city. It was better than settling in Chicago or New York, where I wasn’t welcome anymore. 

Sighing again, I got out of the car and started the process of waking up my children to get them inside. They were all cranky, just like I knew they would be. They grumbled and complained, but all of them went inside and split up to change into their pajamas. I went to my room carrying little Riley and laid him down on my bed. I took off all of his clothes and changed him into a Mickey Mouse shirt and some fuzzy pajama pants. I tucked him into bed before checking on the rest of my kids. They were all like zombies, mulling around and taking turns in the bathroom to change and brush their teeth. By the time everyone was settled into bed, it was 9:45. After kissing all my children goodnight, I went to my room to change and go to bed. 

I checked to make sure Riley was still sleeping and when he was, I went to my bathroom to wipe my makeup off. I took off my clothes and put them in the dirty clothes before I stared at myself in the mirror. I stared for a long time, but even then I couldn’t see what Geoff saw in me. I looked dead with large bags under my eyes, freckles all over my face, and stretch marks on both my breasts and my stomach. My shoulders were broad like a man and my red hair puffed up as I took it out of its braid. What was there to love about me? I looked like a train wreck. But there must be something that Geoff found in me worth keeping for a year. 

I shrugged and went back to my bedroom to pull on one of the shirts Geoff left here for when he slept over from time to time. I plugged in my phone before I crawled into bed with my small son and curled around him.

Early the next morning I woke up to buzzing coming from my phone. Thinking it was Geoff, I rolled over and checked it. What I saw instead sent a chill down my spine. It was a message from an Unknown number that was an image of my sleeping form curled around Riley in my bed last night. I shivered and sat up on my bed quickly. The message under the picture simple read: 

“I’ve found you my Queen…”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
I nearly screamed. I dropped my phone onto the bed and hurried out of bed. Before I knew what I was doing, I was grabbing for the suitcases stuffed under my bed to start packing. Forcing myself to take a breath, I stopped what I was doing and just sat on the floor. The tears welling up in my eyes finally dripped down my face and onto my lap. 

He found us. He was here. In my house. He was going to kill them. My babies and Geoff. 

“I will slaughter your children if you leave me. I will kill all of your family. I’ll make sure you know what torture really is before I finally kill you, my little torturer.”

Soon I was sobbing on the floor and curled up in fetal position. I could barely register Riley coming over and shaking me. “Mommy? Mommy why are you crying?” He hiccuped and only then did I realize he was crying now too. I uncurled and hugged my youngest baby tightly. 

“Riley. Oh Riley. I’m sorry I woke you up. I didn’t mean to.” I told him as I pulled back. I held his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. My right hand came up to wipe the fat tears rolling down his cheeks. “Now let’s go clean up and start on breakfast, how does that sound?” He hiccuped again but nodded and hugged me again. 

“I love you Mommy.” He mumbled into my shoulder. It made me tear up again, but I pushed down the tears and just whispered that I loved him too. I picked him up as I got up and went to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror over my sink and vanity, we both looked like messes. I sat Riley down on the counter before turning on the shower against the back wall. Riley was starting to finally start taking his own showers, but I think we both need the company this morning. I didn’t want to let him out of my sight at the moment and he was still shaking from crying. 

I took off the shirt I had stolen from Geoff’s drawer and my underwear before helping Riley take his clothes off. I picked him up and set him on the floor once I though the shower was nice and warm and we were ready to get in. I held Riley’s hand as he got in to make sure he didn’t slip before I got in too. I sat on the floor of the shower and used some of Geoff’s favorite body wash to clean Riley up. I used the same body wash on myself to hopefully keep me calm. I couldn't afford another breakdown. I needed to start looking at ways to deal with the situation and not have a mental breakdown. 

For a few moments I just sat in the warm water with Riley sitting in my lap. He played with my matted and wet hair before eventually falling back asleep. After a few more minutes I shut off the water and got out, clutching Riley to my chest. I quickly dressed him and myself in comfy clothing. For him, it was a Los Santos print t-shirt and some sweatpants. For me, it was a black t-shirt with the words “The Gods Will Always Smile On Brave Women” and a pair of jean shorts. I also put on the knee high fuzzy socks Liz and Elizabeth got for me last Christmas. They were black and red striped and I loved them. 

I took a moment to collect Riley and my phone before leaving to the living room. I gently placed him on the couch right as my phone started ringing. My whole body locked up for a moment before I realized it was only Geoff’s ringtone. I took a deep breath to calm myself before answering it. “Geoff? It’s only 8 am. Usually you don’t get up until 10 when you’ve left for work.” I said as I made my way to the kitchen. I stuffed my phone between my ear and shoulder so I could start on breakfast. 

“I know. I’m tired as hell, but I was thinking that I need to make up leaving so soon last night. How about I bring breakfast over and we can all hang out today? Play games and all that.” Geoff suggested. I hummed and paused taking out the eggs. 

“Or you could get over here now and help me make breakfast for everyone instead of spending more money on us.” I countered with a smile. I could feel the stress of the morning drifting off into the unknown. “Or are you already on the way?”

“I might be pulling into the driveway now with breakfast for everyone already.” Geoff admitted and I laughed. Only he would be able to make me laugh after everything. I would have to hide this from him as long as I could. I didn’t want to run him off with my horrible situation. He didn’t need to know I was running from someone who wanted to kill all of my family. 

“Okay. I’ll see you in a second.” I told him before hanging up. I put the eggs away before I walked over to the front door to see Geoff at the door holding way too much stuff. I opened the door for him and took some of the bags and drinks, placing them on the counter before giving him a good morning kiss. I followed him back outside to get the rest of the food bags and drinks from his pink Zentorno. I glanced around to make sure there was nobody around before shutting the front door and locked it quickly. The paranoia was going to start eating away at me, I knew it. We lived at least 45 minutes from the city and were out in the middle of nowhere, not anywhere close to neighbors. Who would be able to see Geoff come and go? 

I padded down the hall to start waking up my children, but the smell of food was already drawing out the monsters. Richard and Colin exited their shared room, grumbling and shoving each other to get to the food first. Freya, Nari and Sadie all came out of their room with soft smiles and giggling. Freya pointed at her neck before pointed at the emerging eldest girls. Elizabeth had a few dark hickeys on her neck and was trying to cover them up sloppily with makeup. She seemed exhausted, while Liz was fully awake and aware of her surroundings. She was holding Elizabeth’s hand and humming. 

As soon as Elizabeth was close to me, I grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Liz. “What are those?” I asked her as calmly as I could and gestured to my own neck. Elizabeth rubbed her neck where the dark splotches were and shrugged. 

“My boyfriend got a little handsy last night. So what? I’m an adult.” Elizabeth snatched her arm back and continued on her way to get her breakfast from Geoff. She smiled at him and started chatting him up as she picked out her food. 

Liz frowned at me and shrugged. “Sorry Mommy. She’s been getting more stubborn. I tried to talk her out of letting him do that, but she doesn’t listen to me.” She told me, giving me a hug before going to get her own food. 

I bit my lip and watched my children hang out with Geoff. He was currently helping Sadie pick out her breakfast and juice as he talked to Elizabeth and Liz. Richard was helping a sleepy Riley get his breakfast. My younger twins and Nari already had their breakfasts and were all trying to find something to watch over breakfast. 

Their bickering was almost calming. I could almost pretend that this was normal. That everything was fine. But I couldn't, not when my phone went off again in the kitchen. Not when he looked up at me and told the Elizabeth to help Sadie with her breakfast. Elizabeth just shrugged and stepped in as Geoff came over to me with my phone. He gently took my arm and guided me towards my bedroom. The closer we got, the more I wanted to run away. When he shut the door behind him, I tried snatching my phone from his hand to see what had been sent, but he just held the phone away from me. 

“Who has been threatening you?” Geoff asked me. The calm in his voice made me pull away and straighten out. “And why didn’t you tell me this morning on our call? Were you even going to tell me?” I took another few steps away from him before I turned to sit on my bed, head in my hands. I can’t believe he found out so soon. Fuck. 

“I don’t want to talk about it. I can handle it.” I wanted to add I hope at the end, but that would make things worse. I refused to look up until I felt the bed dip next to me. 

“Who is this unknown number, Aiden? Just tell me.” Geoff begged. “They sent you a picture of yourself and Riley sleeping, and now they sent a picture of us from a few minutes ago. Tell me. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.” I looked at him, really looked, and saw the concern and worry in his eyes, in the way he furrowed his brows, and the slight frown on his lips. 

“I’m sorry. I never meant to drag you into this.” I whimpered. I couldn’t be strong with him so worried. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. “I’ll tell you later. Let’s just pretend that you didn’t see that for now. I don’t want my kids to freak out.” I pulled back some to kiss on his face. “I love you. So much.” I mumbled to him. 

Geoff hummed and hugged me tightly. “I love you too. I won’t press until you’re ready, but it better be soon. I don’t want you or the kids getting hurt.” 

I nodded and wiped away a few stray tears that fallen down my cheeks. “Now let’s go back out there with smiles and have a good day.” I told him with a soft smile. He nodded and smiled back before we left the bedroom together. 

We spent the day together, as a family, laughing and playing around. I couldn’t believe how comfortable I felt with Geoff here compared to this morning. We played all sorts of games together. Our favorite was Mario Kart because then we could attack each other without fear of repercussion in real life- other than some trash talking that is. I was curled up next to Geoff on the L-couch with Riley on his lap. Elizabeth, Liz and Sadie were also on the couch, leaving Freya, Colin, Nari and Richard on the floor, leaned up against the couch. 

I laughed as Richard won yet another round of Mario Kart and paraded around the living room like he was a king. He laughed at Colin who came in 5th place and told Freya she did the best she could when she came in 7th place. I rolled my eyes at Richard’s favoritism of his siblings. He always loved Freya the most and would fight the world for her. He was always so worried for her. 

I was handed Colin’s controller as he went to tackle his brother. Elizabeth busted into loud laughter as Richard took Colin’s tackle and rolled them over. She started shouted out tips for both of them as they wrestled on the floor. Freya kicked at them and squeaked when they got too close to her. She took Nari’s hand and pulled her up to avoid the little scuffle. I huffed and went to get up to break it up, but Geoff beat me to it. With Riley on one hip, he got up and pulled Richard up off of Colin with his free hand. “Enough you little shits. I don’t want you two to beat the snot outta each other, as entertaining as Elizabeth thinks it would be.” 

Richard brushed himself off and gave Colin a shit eating grin before settling back in his spot between Freya and Nari. Colin huffed and straightened himself out before scooting to sit on Freya’s other side. The day was mostly uneventful after that. We kept playing games, we ordered pizza for lunch and Chinese food for dinner. From those meals we had plenty of leftovers to last a while. And like a gentleman, Geoff paid for it all. 

When it came time for him to go, I nearly begged him to stay. But to protect him, I let him go back to his penthouse in the heart of Los Santos. It was breaking my heart to not tell him, but I couldn’t risk him getting involved. At least, not until I knew how he was finding out information about us. I let him help me put all the kids to bed and before I knew it, we were heading towards the door. 

He grabbed my shoulders to make me face him. “I love you. I’m only a call away and I will be here. No matter the time.” He told me before he pulled me to his chest and held me there. I slowly wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. 

“I know.” I mumbled to him. Taking a deep breath in, I reveled in the amber, blackberry, and vanilla smell coming from him. It was faint but still there. “I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. I promise. I just need to sort some things out before I tell you.” I pulled back when he nodded. “Have a safe trip back into the city.” I told him softly. 

He only smiled at me and gave me a kiss on the lips. “I will. I have you guys to protect. I can’t be getting myself into trouble, now can I?” 

I chuckled and shook my head. “No, you can’t. We would all be very upset.”

When we parted, I felt my paranoia creeping back in. I checked the inside of the house from top to bottom before the thought of relaxing again even crossed my mind. I double checked that everything was locked before I finally went to bed. Thankfully Riley was sleeping in his brother’s room tonight so I was all alone to stew in my paranoia. I made sure my phone was plugged in and on my nightstand. That way I could have easy access to it in case of emergencies. I also made sure I took my pistol out of my closet and made sure to load it before slipping it into the top drawer of my nightstand. 

With the faux feeling of security, I curled up in bed around a pillow. Eventually I went to sleep after thinking over and over again, how did he find me?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
As I faked sleep, I felt my much larger husband slip into bed with me. “I know you're not sleeping.” He cooed softly into my ear. He shifted my body like it was nothing to make me face him and have one of his arms under me. With bleary eyes, I looked up at him. He chuckled as he tucked away stray strands of my fiery hair behind my ear. “Are the children keeping you up? Or my long nights?” 

“Both.” I whispered. It was true. I had a hard time sleeping without another warm body in bed with me, and Sadie had me getting up all hours of the night to change her diaper. 

My husband chuckled and smiled down at me. A tired smile, but a smile nonetheless. Those had been getting rarer and rarer the longer we were married. Just the same as it had been getting rarer to see me outside of the house he owned. I barely saw my sister, brother, and mother anymore. I usually only saw them at holidays and birthdays, if that. I didn’t realize I had started frowning until he frowned as well. 

“What is it, my little Queen?” He asked in his deep baritone voice. He gently traced the frown lines between my eyes, almost like he was trying to smooth them out. I relaxed my face and shut my eyes. 

“Nothing. It's nothing.”

My eyes flew open when his hand wrapped itself around my neck. “I said, what is it. I expect an answer when I ask you a question. Now, what had you frowning?” He growled. I teared up and shook my head. He would kill me if he found out I wanted to see my family more. He wanted me all to himself. 

“I-I-I…” I started, but found my voice faltering. “I miss my family.” I finished softly. I was terrified of what he would do to me. He had a horrible temper and just loved to hear me scream. Before it was from pleasure, but now… 

He just smiled. “But you have your family with you always. Our children and I are all the family you need.” He cooed sweetly into my ear. It only served to send chills down my spine. He rolled us over and situated himself between my thighs. “If you want more children, we could always work on that.” I could hear the smirk in his voice without I even seeing it. 

“I meant my siblings and my mother.” I tried to muster as much courage as I could to look him in the eye as he leaned in to kiss me. He paused and glared down at me. He grabbed me by the throat again and tightened his grip. I gasped and sputtered, hands coming up to scratch at his hand on my throat. 

“Please. No.” I whimpered as his free hand pushed up my short nightgown. His hands trailed up my thighs and he released a soft groan. He scratched down my thighs, leaving red streaks in his wake. He tightens his grip again when I open my mouth to speak. To beg. Anything to get him to stop. 

“I will slaughter your children if you leave me. I will kill all of your family. I’ll make sure you know what torture really is before I finally kill you, my little torturer.” He leaned his body against mine and roughly rutted against me. I could feel his hardened length prodding against my core as he continued. “I will leave death in my wake until I find you again. And you will regret the day you ever left me.” He whispered against my lips before he captured them. 

__________

I woke up sputtering and sobbing. I couldn’t breathe. I reached for where Geoff usually was on nights like this. He usually held me until I calmed down. But he wasn’t here. Of course he wasn’t here the one time I truly need him. I had sent him home to protect him. But now I couldn’t calm down. All I could think of was what Cyneric said to me that night. I shivered and covered my mouth to quiet my sobs. I didn’t want to wake up my children. 

With a shaky hand, I reached for my phone on my nightstand. “Please pick up.” I whimpered as I dialed Geoff’s number. I hit call and waited only a moment after it connected before Geoff was answering. “Geoff?” I asked softly, I tried keeping my voice solid, but it was shaky and sounded like I had been screaming. 

“Aiden? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Geoff’s voice was urgent. He sounded so worried that I almost burst into another sobbing fit. 

“He’s going to kill me and the kids. Please. I need you to come over. He’s found us.” I whispered, like I was scared Cyneric would hear me if I spoke any louder. 

“Who? God dammit. I’ll be right over. Don't move.” The urgency and worry in his voice brought fresh tears to my eyes. I could hear him shouting orders to others and then he was talking to me again. “I love you Aiden. Remember that.” Then it was silent as he ended the call. 

“I love you too Geoff. Please don’t leave me too.” I slipped out of bed, shaking like a leaf, and wrapped the quilt I was sleeping with over my body. All I had on under the blanket was an extra large shirt that hung off one of my shoulders and underwear. I had changed some time in the night when I got too hot.

I made my way out of my room and down the hall to the living room and kitchen. I made some tea for myself and quietly sat on the couch in the dark living room, trying my best not to cry anymore. It was only three in the morning, and I was surprised that Geoff even answered. He should’ve been sleeping, not wide awake and with people. But, he was also a criminal, and probably a high up one at that. How else would he be able to afford everything he did? 

Not too much longer and there the sound of a key unlocking the door. I had finally stopped shaking, but now I couldn’t stop myself. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks and I started sobbing softly. I shut my eyes tightly, thinking this was my last moments of freedom. Cyneric was here and he was going to slaughter us all. 

“Aiden?” Geoff’s voice drifted in from the front door. As soon as I heard his voice, I left myself breathe again. 

“In here.” I called loud enough for them to hear, but not loud enough to wake up my kids. I sipped at the chamomile tea to hopefully destress and calm my frayed nerves. I heard him and many others come pouring into my living room. I didn’t look up until Geoff softly called my name. I got up as I looked up, surprised by the others in my house. I had expected others, but I hadn’t expected them to be armed to the teeth for a fire fight. What I definitely didn’t expect was the black skull mask staring at me. 

“Vagabond?”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
I tensely watched as the Vagabond advanced on me. His bright blue eyes were narrowed behind his black skull mask. He looked every bit the demon I remembered him as. I couldn't- I couldn't meet his eyes anymore. I looked down at my tea and shivered, only looking back up when his rough and calloused hand tilted my chin up to face him. I opened my mouth to say something- anything to those darkening blue eyes, but Riley's crying cut me off. My eyes snapped away from the Vagabond's as little footsteps come rushing down the hall. I took a step back from him and put my tea down, shed my blanket of protection, and kneel down to be on Riley's level as he ran down the hall crying.

His sandy blond hair was matted to his red face as salty tears ran like rivers down his cheeks. The moment I opened my arms to him, he came crashing into me. “Mommy! Don't die!” Riley cried out. Now that startled everyone in the room.

“Mommy won't die.” I mumbled softly to him. I buried my face into his hair as I stood again. I ignored the look from Vagabond as he tried to piece together whose child this was. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I moved away from the couch and gestured toward it with one arm before wrapping it back around Riley.

“Sit. Just, make sure you don't shoot anyone.” I told the crew. I threw them a fake smile. Something both Geoff and the Vagabond quickly saw through.

Before I could stop him, Riley sat up and turned to face the Vagabond. He smiled through his tears, reaching out to touch the plastic of the skull mask. His bright blue eyes studied the mask as he seemingly tried to memorize the dips and curves of the mask. “Are you my daddy?” Riley asked, looking deep into the Vagabond's blue eyes.

My eyes widened as I quickly went to step further away from the Vagabond, but his hands found my hips and dragged me close to him. The room paused their motions of coming closer to the couch. His eyes narrow at me, and the whole world fell away. “Am I his ‘daddy’, little Fire?” He growled lowly.

All words died in my throat as I tried speaking. All I could let out was a soft whimper from fear. The crinkling on the sides of his eyes let me know he was smiling behind his mask. His stupid Vagabond mask. Before I realized what I was doing, I had my hand on the bottom of his mask and was pulling upward. I ripped his mask off and threw it onto the couch.

The Vagabond growled at me but I didn't back down. I wasn’t going to back down. Not again. I was going to stand my ground in the face of his danger. I could deal with his danger. I was with him for a year and a half for crying out loud. I glared back at him and shoved at his chest. “Let. Me. Go.” I snapped at him and tried wiggling free. Riley’s eyes snapped between the two of us. He whimpered softly and hid his face in my neck. I knew he hated fighting, but that’s all I could do with the Vagabond. We fought and argued.

“Why should I? I thought you liked being close to me.” Vagabond leaned in close to my face so I shoved him again. He tightened his grip on my hips and pulled us to be chest to chest. I instinctively held Riley closer to me to hide him from his father.

I just glared at him. I could feel the anger I let go of years ago welling back up in me. When he leaned in to kiss me, I slapped him harshly. “Don’t you fucking dare.” I growled at him. I could see Geoff slowly approaching out of the corner of my eye with anger written all over his face. Vagabond’s blue eyes grew dark again and he raised a hand. I naturally tried hiding Riley from what I assumed was going to be a slap of retaliation, but it gently came down to hold my cheek.

“What the fuck is going on here? You two know each other?” Geoff grabbed Vagabond’s hand off my cheek and roughly shoved him away from me. Then came a glaring match between the two of them. I glanced over at the rest of Geoff’s crew and recognized two of the men. They were the boys Liz and Elizabeth went out on dates with. Just the thought of my eldest girls dating members of what I assumed to be Geoff's crew made my blood boil.

I ignored Geoff and the Vagabond until I felt wet drops on my chest. I looked down at Riley who was sobbing again and shaking. I held him close and tried to console him, but the no avail. He flinched and covered his ears when the Vagabond and Geoff started yelling at each other. “Riley, baby, it's okay. Don't worry. They'll calm down soon.” I tried to soothe him, but he ignored me and kept crying. I rocked him and said as many soothing things as I could to him, but he continued to cry and shake. I would have let Geoff and the Vagabond scream at each other until they were both red in the face, but my baby was upset with it. I couldn't have that.

“Enough!” I snapped at the arguing men. They didn't stop so I snatched a pillow off the couch and threw it at them. When they both looked at me, I glared. “Shut up! The both of you! You're going to wake everyone up and you're making Riley have a panic attack!” I yelled at them. I kept my glare on them until I heard footsteps down the hall. I whirled around to look down the hall to see Elizabeth rushing out with a wooden baseball bat at the ready. She looked around, ready to swing her bat, but stopped when her eyes locked onto the auburn haired boy that she had gone out with before. She looked over at me with confusion written all over her freckled face before she dropped her bat. She stared wide eyed at the Vagabond.

Liz hid behind her younger, but much stronger, twin until she saw the boy she had gone out with. She hesitated before she rushed over to him and hugged him. He immediately holstered his gun and hugged her close.

More of my children came down the hall. Freya ran for me, her nightgown making her stumble a bit before she came crashing into me. Nari and Sadie, on the other hand, went running for the Vagabond. “Daddy!” Sadie cried out as she ran to him. Nari just held tightly onto the Vagabond and cried softly into his side.

Geoff stared up at me in confusion and betrayal for a moment before Liz's shout of “Stop it!” drew my attention. I held Riley close when I saw what the shouting was about. Elizabeth had gotten out of her state of shock and had picked back up her baseball bat. She was trying to make her way towards the Vagabond to beat him, but the short man that was with Liz and Elizabeth's own so called boyfriend were holding her back. Elizabeth thrashed around and started yelling at them to let her go. I didn't notice Geoff until he was gripping my arm tightly.

“Aiden. I need you to explain this to me. Who is going after you and how do you know the Vagabond?” He asked calmly. I looked down at Riley who was finally calming down in my arms before nodding.

“I'll tell you everything, but not here. It's not safe here. We need to go somewhere safe.” I told him. My eyes didn't leave Riley until I felt Geoff's hand on my chin. He tilted my face up to look at him. He looked at me for a moment, really looked, like he was searching for something. What he was looking for, I have no idea, but he seemed satisfied for now and nodded.

“Alright. Pack up anything you can in a small bag and then follow us in your car.” Geoff glanced at Elizabeth, slumped down and crying between the two men, then to Sadie and Nari clinging to the Vagabond for dear life before looking back at me. “We need to go before something happens.”

I quickly nodded and called my girls over away from the Vagabond. I told them to get their emergency bags to which they nodded and ran off. Freya was hesitant to leave my side, taking one last glance at the Vagabond and Geoff before taking off down the hall. I felt horrible that I was putting them all through this, being thrust back into a life of fear and paranoia. The guilt started building up in my chest but I shoved it down before it could consume me. I went to Riley, Richard, and Colin’s room. The teen boy room had a bunk bed on the left side of the room and then a small twin bed on the right.

I rushed to the bunk beds where Richard slept up top and Colin on the bottom. I shook the boys awake, shushing them when they started to question me. “I’ll explain later. Go get your emergency bags and make sure to get Riley’s.” I told them. They grumbled but got out of bed and went to their closet. They pulled three blue duffel bags, of varying sizes, out of the secret panel under the floorboards. Richard was clearly more awake since he grabbed his and Colin’s phones and chargers, stuffing them into the bags, before following me into my room. I grabbed my black duffel bag from under my bed and threw it over my free shoulder. With my sons, I went to my girls’ room. Freya was ready with her large red duffel bag with Nari and her matching medium one, and Sadie was trying to stuff her teddy bear into her purple duffel bag. I helped her the best I could before rushing them out of the room. Elizabeth and Liz met us in the hall as we shuffled down the hall towards the awaiting men and woman in the living room.

I carefully shifted Riley a bit to make sure my arm wouldn’t fall asleep. I hesitated in the living room for only a moment before leaving out the side door to the garage and packing up the car. After giving Riley to Elizabeth to put in his booster seat, I organized the nine bags in the trunk to fit and still let me see out of the back windshield some. I sighed as I shut the trunk and went to the living room.

“We’re ready!” I shouted to them and ducked back into the garage. I didn’t want to face Geoff at the moment. His look of confusion and betrayal from earlier was burned into my memory and would haunt me. I got into the front seat, doubling checking on the kids who were falling back asleep with the exception of my eldest three. Elizabeth, Liz and Richard seemed on edge now. They knew what emergency bags meant. They had an idea of what was happening, but not even I knew what the rest of the night looked like. After clicking the button to open the garage door, said door slowly crawled its way up and I could back up into the driveway. Thankfully, Geoff had parked to the side and had his people park on the side of the road.

“Mom, tell us the truth. Did he find us? We stayed in Los Santos too long didn’t we?” Liz’s voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. She was scared of the answer and I knew it. I reached over to hold her hand.

“I won't let him get you to. To any of us. I'll protect you.” I gave her a soft smile as she played with her blonde hair.

She gave me a watery eyed smile back and nodded. “Okay.” She whispered before she wiped her eyes.

I glanced back out and saw that Geoff's group was ready to leave. A chrome colored car honked their horn before racing off towards the city. I glanced back to see Elizabeth smiling as she watched the chrome car drive off toward the horizon. That must be her boyfriend's car. I waited for Geoff’s pink Zentorno to peel away from the side of the road before I backed out of my driveway and onto the road. I carefully followed his car into the city, watching around me for any suspicious activity. Though all I could see was a purple and orange monstrosity on one side and a black and green Zentorno on the other, with a blue Entity behind me. I could almost feel my nerves fraying as we drove and drove through the heart of Los Santos to a huge apartment building. I gulped when the cars around me pulled in one after another, with the exception of the black and green Zentorno. I hesitantly pulled into the garage and the Zentorno pulled in behind me. I followed them to parking spots, only pulling in when Geoff got out of his car and gestured for me to park next to him. Taking a shaky breath, I pulled into the spot.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
I pulled into the spot slowly, making sure not to hit the extremely expensive Zentornos on either side of my car. Before I even put the car in park, Elizabeth was getting out of the car and running off to her boyfriend, leaving her door wide open. Liz did a similar thing, but at least she shut her door behind her. 

I sighed as I put the car in park. Looking down, I blushed a bit after realizing I had no pants on. “Oh great.” I mumbled. Whatever. I'll just have to deal with it. I got out of the car so Richard did the same. He helped me wake up the rest of the kids. I could feel someone staring at me while I bent over into the car to get Riley, so I glanced over my shoulder to see the Vagabond leaning on the black and green Zentorno. He was just staring at me with his head tilted to the side. He hadn't put his mask back on, but he still had his face paint on. It obscured what he truly looked like, but I had memorized his face a long time ago. 

I glared at him for a moment before looking back at Riley. I scooped him up gently and he whimpered in his sleep. Resting his head over my heart, I meant to go to Geoff but my body had other ideas. My feet walked me toward the Vagabond as I glared at him. “Don’t stare at my ass. Especially in front of my kids.” I snapped at him and turned on my heel to walk away, but he also had other ideas. He grabbed my arm tight enough for a bruise to surely form later. I kept my glare at him while he made me turn to face him. His face was unreadable. Fear welled up in my chest for a moment before his face softened. His eyes left mine, drifting down to the sleeping boy in my arms. 

“How old is he?” Vagabond asked softly. His lips pressed into a thin line after his question. His hand left my arm slowly and it came up to touch Riley’s sandy hair. He seemed hesitant and worried, even pulling back when Riley shifted in his sleep, but he placed his hand back on Riley’s head when he relaxed again. He played with Riley’s hair for a moment before looking up at me again. “He’s mine, isn’t he?” He asked softly. 

“Riley just turned five.” I told him, ignoring the last question. I wasn’t ready to confront him about his child. I was scared that Vagabond would take my baby away. I stepped back, ignoring that hurt look at flashed across his face when I pulled his child away from him. I succeeded in walking away to Geoff this time. He was grabbing bags from the back of my car and passing them out to the sleepy kids, his female crew member, and a man that had golden shades on. I smiled at the fidgeting Richard before giving him a side hug. “Don’t worry Richy. Everything will be just fine. I won’t let anything happen to us.” 

Richard just nodded stiffly before following behind his older sisters to the elevator at the end of the garage. The rest of the children sleepily stumbled after him and they were followed by the ginger haired woman, the man wearing gold shades, and Geoff. As soon as I started making my way to the elevator with them, Vagabond was at my side. “Is he mine, Aiden? Just tell me already.” Vagabond tried stopping me again, but I stepped away and into the elevator before he could get a good grip on me. He sighed and stepped in as well. With all of us crammed in, the ginger haired woman pressed the top button with a ‘P’ on it. The Vagabond was on one side of me and Richard on the other. 

Richard wrapped an arm around around my waist and leaned against me some, glowering over at Vagabond. “Mommy, are we staying here until we leave the city?” He looked up at me as both Geoff and Vagabond’s attention snapped to me. I felt like shrinking away, but I stood strong and just focused on my sons. 

“I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.” My eyebrows knitted together and I reached down to rub his back. “Do you want to leave?” I felt everyone staring at us, and I knew it made Richard slightly uncomfortable by the way he tightened his grip on my waist. 

“No. I like living here. I like our house. I like Geoff. He’s nice to you.” Richard glanced at Geoff before leveling his gaze at Vagabond. “I don’t like the Vagabond though. He hurt you and made you cry.” They had a small glaring contest before I held Richard’s chin and made him look back up at me. He softened his gaze and gave me a soft smile. “I just want you to be happy. I hate looking over our shoulders. I want him to die.” His face hardened just as the elevator door opened.

Elizabeth laughed some as she pulled her boyfriend out of the tight elevator. “Good luck on that. I’m going to be with Michael while we all wait to be murdered.” She blew a kiss at me before she started down the long hall. 

“Elizabeth Rosalie. We are all going to sit down and talk about this. All of this.” I told her, shifting away from Richard to grab at her. Elizabeth pulled herself away from me and narrowed her eyes. I met her eyes with my own narrowed ones. I left the confined elevator to meet my stubborn daughter head on. “Elizabeth. We all need to talk about what’s going on.”

“What’s going on? What’s going on is that your psycho husband is going to murder all of us! All because you left him!” Elizabeth screamed. She glared daggers at me before turning back to her auburn haired boyfriend. “I can’t even right now. It’s like three in the fucking morning and I just want to go to sleep.” She waved over her shoulder at us and kept parading down the hall in her shorts and tank top. “I’m gonna call Uncle Gil and Aunt Caitlin before I go to bed!” She called out. 

My blood ran cold at the mention of my siblings. “You will not call them, Elizabeth. They’re going to make everything so much worse.” I raced after Elizabeth, but a heavy hand on my shoulder held me in place. Of course, when I looked back, it was Vagabond. I pressed my lips together and scowled at him. “You know what my siblings are like. You want her to call them?” I turned and jabbed my finger into his chest. 

“It would beneficial to have a mafia family on our side, Fire. He has one behind him.” Vagabond stated before flattening out my hand to put over his heart. It was something I had started to do with him before the end of our relationship five and a half years ago. It was meant to calm us both down and ground ourselves. My heart fluttered a bit at the memory before I stomped on it. I ripped my hand away from him and held Riley.

“A wot? Mafia family? Your girlfriend is from a mafia family?” A British accent came from the man wearing the gold framed sunglasses. He put them up and looked between Geoff and I.

Geoff never took his eyes off me, not even when the British man spoke. He stepped out of the elevator and past the ginger haired woman who reached out to grab him. “Geoff…” She called, but he ignored her. 

“Just who the hell are you Aiden? Is Aiden even your real name? Or is that fake too?” Geoff snapped at me. I flinched at his tone of voice. He was more angry than I've ever seen him in our year long relationship. I took a step back and felt Vagabond wrap an arm around my waist. 

“Aiden is her real name.” Vagabond told Geoff. He had a steely edge to his voice and gripped me tighter the closer Geoff got to us. The men’s eyes were locked together. Geoff got really close to Vagabond and I before he even looked at me again. All I could see was disgust in his eyes, and it broke my already breaking heart even more.

“Geoff! Vagabond! Let's give Aiden a chance to explain herself before we get into a fight.” The ginger haired woman suggested, stepping out of the elevator and putting a hand on Geoff's shoulder. Geoff shrugged her hand off before he sighed and nodded. 

“Alright, fine. Aiden, living room, then explain.” Geoff motioned toward a doorway down the hall a bit. 

I nodded silently and went to walk to the living room, but Vagabond still hadn’t let me go. I wiggled some before I jabbed him in the side with my elbow. “Let go Vagabond.” I told him. I felt his eyes look down at me but I refused to look up at him. I didn’t want to get lost in those damn blue eyes ever again. I wiggled away from him once his grip loosened and ushered my now wide awake children to the living room. After a few moments, Geoff and his crew - save for Michael - followed us into the living room. 

I made sure to sit Richard on the couch and give him Riley when he started waking up. Freya and Colin went to Geoff and hovered around him, trying to stay away from the Vagabond. On the other hand, Sadie and Nari hovered around the Vagabond and held onto his signature leather jacket like little children even though they were ten and thirteen. Liz stayed in the corner with the short and stocky man. I carefully sat next to Richard on the couch, cautiously glancing between my children. I gulped and looked down at my hands. “There’s a lot to explain Geoff. Where do you want me to start?”


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
At the hard look Geoff gave me, I just started at the beginning. “Well, I was the first born child to the Boss and his wife of the Norwegian Mafia in Chicago. I grew up a spoiled criminal. Everyone was terrified of my mother and father so even if I got caught, nothing ever happened to me. Other than being beaten my father, but that was normal.” I glanced at Geoff to see him staring at me with softer eyes. 

“I have two younger siblings, Caitlin and Gilbert. When Caitlin was 18, she slept with and got pregnant from Casper Drach, a foot soldier under my father's brother. Outraged, my father almost killed my sister and her boyfriend on the spot. But I convinced him to let me be viewed as the whore. Caitlin and Casper were separated and I took their daughters, Elizabeth and Liz. Everyone thought I had slept around and gotten pregnant and Caitlin was still viewed as innocent and pure.”

“When Gilbert was 18, he knocked up his girlfriend. I offered to take their son since they weren't ready for a child, so Richard became my third child. But everyone knew Richard was my brother's because of his Hispanic heritage from his mother.” I wrung my hands together and glanced at Richard who was trying to get Riley to go back to sleep while we talked. Riley didn't need to know everything. He was too young. Richard's lips were pressed into a thin line, like he was trying to keep himself calm. I knew he hated his biological father and mother for giving him up, but he hid it from the rest of the world. 

“Then came Dante the Shark and I fell head over heels for him. Thing moved quickly and I found myself pregnant with Freya and Colin. As soon as they were born, our little family ran off to New York and we eloped. I was banned from my family for marrying someone outside of the mafia family. It was barely a year before he was shot and killed in a heist gone wrong.” I barely managed a glance up at Geoff and his crew. I saw a few emotions swirling in Geoff's eyes, but he turned them hard again before I decipher them. “After him, I had to move quickly. I allied myself with the Royals, Fey-Lin the Prince and Cyneric the King.”

“Like an idiot, I fell for Fey-Lin. We were quick to fight, but it worked for a while. We were one big happy family. But as soon as I found out I was pregnant with Nari, Fey-Lin disappeared. And, with much regret, I moved onto Cyneric to keep his protection for my children. At the same time, he took over for his ailing father in the New York mafia. With that came more responsibility and it twisted him. He became power hungry and had me become his torturer. For seven years I was abused by him. I wanted to be strong and run away, but I was trapped. I had a newborn Sadie and was weak and depressed from the pregnancy.” I tried stopping myself from shaking, but I just couldn't. I rubbed my eyes to keep myself from crying at the memories flashing through my mind. Both the good and the bad. I took a shaky breath, and Richard started leaning on me to try comforting me. 

“He was cheating on me the whole time as well. With his so called ‘best friend’. One day she came to me and told me to leave. Leave or she would slit the throats of my children in their sleep. I refused out of fear of Cyneric's wrath, and so she stabbed herself and blamed it on me. I was beaten so ruthlessly that night by Cyneric, her deal became more appealing. So I took it. I packed up everything I could and I left in the middle of the night with the kids. And now he's hunting us.” This time I couldn't meet Geoff's eyes. I wanted to look up, but I just couldn't. I was scared. I didn't want him to see my tears. As much as I hated Cyneric, there was that small part of me that would always love him. Love him for Sadie and his protection. Without him, we would have all been starving on the streets and most likely I would have been sent to prison. 

“Wot about Vagabond and Riley?” The British man asked. I finally gained the courage to look up to see Geoff and Vagabond staring at me. Geoff had so many mixed emotions in his eyes, I couldn't even begin deciphering them. But Vagabond had one. He had anger. But I knew it wasn't directed at me. I'd seen this anger before, when I first explained everything to him. He had hit the wall and made a sizable indent in it. He had vowed to make sure Cyneric suffered for everything he's done. 

I fidgeted some and looked back down at my lap as I thought on how to answer the question. “Well, I moved to Los Santos after running away from Cyneric. I thought being across the country would be far enough for him to not find me. I started another life of crime by stealing from gas stations and such to pay the bills. One day, I was contacted by a man to take out this big shot. It payed a lot but it was low risk, so I took it.” I bit my lip before looking back up at Vagabond. “The reason why there was so much pay was because Vagabond was working for another person who wanted the target dead. I accidentally took his kill from him.” 

Vagabond smiled a bit, as if he was remembering what happened next, while I struggled with what to say next. “He followed me back to my getaway car and we, um, got a little close. For a month we played cat and mouse until he followed me home while my children were with their aunt and uncle, and we became partners. Soon enough, he met my kids and Nari and Sadie grew attached.” I chanced a glance at Geoff who had his arms crossed over his chest and was glaring at Vagabond. 

“Not too long after I spilled my guts to him, Vagabond asked me to marry him. He vowed to kill Cyneric so we could get married and I could live without fear.” Geoff whirled around to look at me. 

“You’re engaged to Vagabond?” He shouted. I flinched and shut my eyes tightly, letting some tears escape. I just nodded and gulped. I was half expecting him to stomp over here and hit me, just like Cyneric would have, but I had to remind myself he wasn't Cyneric. I could feel Vagabond’s eyes boring into me. 

“Let her finish Geoff.” The ginger woman said. I silently thanked her in my head before continuing. 

“Eventually my mother died from a shootout and I was invited to her funeral. I told Vagabond, and in his paranoia, he told me I wasn't allowed to go. We fought over it and that was the end of us. I flew back to Chicago with all my children to attend my mother’s funeral only to find that my little brother Gilbert was taking over for the family because my father had died in the years previous.” I pursed my lips for a moment as I thought. “I found out I was pregnant with Riley after I almost fainted at the funeral. I panicked again and ran back to where I felt safe, Los Santos. But I was too scared of Vagabond’s potential wrath to draw his attention back to me, so I used some of my few noncriminal skills to become a successful seamstress and tailor. I bought a house away from the city and memories of him. I met Geoff two years ago; we became friends then lovers. Cyneric found us somehow. And now we’re here.”

“That it?” Geoff’s curt voice makes me look up at him again. “So first you’re a liar, then you’re engaged to my friend, and now you’re a wanted criminal too? What else are you hiding from me?” He snapped at me. My eyes watered again at how angry he was with me. “Why didn’t you fucking tell me? Do you not trust me?”

I shook my head. “I’m not hiding anything else. I didn’t want to tell you any of this because I knew you would react like this. Push me away and yell at me.” I met his angry eyes and didn’t back down. “If you don’t want to help us, I’ll understand. Just tell me now.” I noticed Vagabond moving out of my peripheral vision and turned to stare at him. 

He had a soft look in his eyes as he moved toward Richard and Riley. Richard held his little brother closer to his chest and glared at Vagabond, but Riley wiggled out of his grip and held his hands out to Vagabond. Hesitantly, the blond hitman I had fallen in love with six years ago picked up our son and held him. Riley smiled and hugged Vagabond around the neck before settling down to go back to sleep. 

“Your kids don’t deserve to live in fear, Aiden. Why didn’t you send them to be with your siblings? They would be safer with them.” My eyes snapped back to Geoff and I felt my blood boil at the thought of sending my kids away. 

“Send them to their deaths you mean? Send them off to become mafia members at 10 years old? To start killing off rival mafia members at 10? Why would I do that to them?” I had started off at a level tone, but by the end I was yelling at Geoff. I was out of my seat before I knew it and storming over to him. “You can't even imagine what living in that house is like. My father raised us to be killers. Cold blooded killers. I do not want that for my children.” I glared at Geoff for a moment before turning and storming off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long all! I've had most of this written out for a while, just never got around to finishing it with so much happening in life and school.


End file.
